It happened one Christmas
by Andorra97
Summary: modern AU. Sybil is a doctor, Tom is a journalist just moving in from Dublin to London. They live in the same building and meet for the first time on Christmas Eve.
1. Chapter 1

_I hope it isn't too late for another Christmas story. It's my first modern AU and it may be totally OOC, but I just have so much fun writing it, I refuse to find excuses._

_I'm not finished with it yet, but I know where it is going and I have 9 chapters already written, so I hope to post very regularly._

_My biggest thank you goes to Scarlet, who edits it for me even though her little daughter was ill over Christmas. Thank you, Scarlet!_

**It happened one Christmas**

"So you won't be coming here for Christmas?" The voice of her mother sounded terribly disappointed and Sybil suddenly felt guilty even though it really wasn't her fault that it was snowing for hours now and there was no way she was going to be able to drive all the way to Downton through this weather.

"No, Mom, I'm sorry," she apologized again. "It's really dangerous to drive now. I'll try to come for New Year's Eve though. Don't be upset, okay?"

"I understand,",her mother sighed. "But I'm sad anyway. To think of you all alone on Christmas eve and nobody to keep you company."

Sybil grimaced. She really loved her family, but after the hard weeks at work in the last month, she was actually looking forward to spend an evening curled on the sofa in front of the TV. She had been dreading the prospect of having to drive four hours that night to Downton in good weather, with all this snow, she was just grateful she had an excuse to stay at home.

She had just changed into her pajamas and got comfortable on the sofa when a ring at the door to her flat startled her. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see a complete stranger standing before her with slightly dishevelled sandy hair and amazing blue eyes.

"Sorry to bother you on Christmas Eve,", he said in an Irish accent and with a friendly smile. " I'm Tom Branson, the new tenant from the flat under yours. I just moved in today and I wondered if I might use your phone for one short call? You know, there's no electricity in the flat and unfortunately the battery of my mobile is out, too. I really need to call Mr. Crawley..."

"Of course," Sybil said hastily and opened the door so he could step in. "But I'm afraid Mr. Crawley won't be home tonight." She then added, "I'm Sybil Crawley and I'm actually his daughter. So I know he's in Yorkshire for the Holidays, and Mr. Carson, the caretaker, has taken a few days off, too!"

"Oh", Tom said. "I see. Well, then maybe I could ring a friend instead? It's bloody cold in the flat, actually since the radiator isn't working either without electricity. Maybe I can sleep somewhere else."

"Sure", Sybil lead him into her living room. "I really feel awful that you move here into my father's house and have to freeze on Christmas Eve." She grimaced. "Unfortunately I don't know anything about electricity nor would I know whom to ask."

"No problem." Tom smiled. "It's not a big deal. I'll just call a few friends. I'm sure one of them will be at home and happy to give me shelter. It's Christmas after all, isn't it? They're probably looking for some charitable thing to do anyway."

Sybil grinned and handed him her phone. While he did his calls, she went to the kitchen to give him some privacy. After a few minutes Tom appeared at the kitchen door though.

"I think I'll give up", he said, handing her the phone. "It seems everyone is out of town. So I guess I'll just go to the pub around the corner for dinner, but thank you anyway."

"Oh no!", Sybil exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. I feel really bad. It's my father's house after all. You'll be freezing tonight without a radiator!"

Tom chuckled at her distressed face. "Don't worry. I won't freeze. I just dress a little warmer."

"But may I at least offer you something to eat? I actually only was going to have some pasta and a salad which is of course not a real Christmas Dinner, but I feel I have to do something to make it up to you."

Tom looked her for a second with an odd expression. "I'd like that, thank you." He smiled then.

Sybil nodded. "Good, so why don't you sit and warm you up a bit, while I make us something to eat? Would you like something to drink? Wine, Water, Beer maybe?"

"Wine would be nice," he said and she went to get a bottle.

"Is red okay?" she asked. "I actually don't have anything else, because I don't drink white wine."

"It's perfect. I don't drink white wine either."

He took the glass from her and smiled again. Sybil detected that he had a very nice smile. He was very attractive anyway. She wondered if she had ever seen any man with such intense blue eyes. It was nice how they lit up when he was smiling.

Suddenly he noticed that she was staring and blushed deeply. Damn. She turned around quickly and went to the kitchen. Instead of sitting down on the sofa, Tom followed her though, the wine glass in his hand.

"Can I help you somehow? I can't just sit there and wait to be fed."

"You could make the salad if you like", Sybil proposed and showed him where everything he needed was.

Half an hour later they sat opposite each other at her dining table and were chatting like old friends. She had asked him about his work and he told her that he was a journalist and the conversation went easily from there to politics, to her work as a doctor to family and friends, London and Dublin to books and various other topics.

Sybil found it was very easy to converse with him. He was very open and friendly and seemed to take a real interest in everything she said. After their meal, he helped her washing the dishes and they moved to the sofa, still drinking red wine and actually emptying their second bottle.

"So you are Mr. Crawley's daughter?", Tom suddenly asked. "But isn't he a Lord or something?"

"An Earl", she said with a grimace. "But I don't like to mention it, really."

"Does that mean you have a title, too?"

"Only a courtesy one. I'm officially a Lady", Sybil nodded which Tom obviously found very funny, because he started to laugh. Or maybe it was just the wine.

"Lady Sybil", he said and looked at her. "Not bad. I think I like it."

She leaned her head against the cushions of the sofa. "I used to hate it, but I'm over that now. I just go as Ms. Crawley, or better even Dr. Crawley. I think that suits me better."

Tom leaned back, too. "I think I should be going", he said with a sigh. "I won't say I don't regret leaving this nice warm apartment, though." He winked at her, so she knew he didn't mean it.

He stood up and she did the same.

"Well", she said a bit awkward. "I wish you a good night then."

"Thank you so much for dinner," Tom said and smiled that cute smile again that warmed her heart. Or was it the wine? Sybil didn't know, but what she did know was that she was feeling very warm under his gaze.

Out of the blue he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Sleep well", he said.

For a second Sybil froze, just staring in his eyes. Then, suddenly without knowing who moved first, they were kissing deeply.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow," Tom whispered. "That was... amazing."

Sybil only nodded, lying on her back, still gasping for air and staring at the ceiling in wonder.

"Yes," she finally sighed. "It was actually."

Tom turned, leaned his head on his elbow and looked down on her with a half smile.

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. What is the usual thing for a one-night stand? Do we just sleep or do you have to leave or what?"

Tom chuckled. "I wouldn't know. I haven't done that before."

"What?" Sybil sat up in astonishment. "You haven't?!"

"No", he answered and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm actually more the serious kind of guy."

Sybil plopped back on the bed. "I can't believe it."

That made him chuckle again. "Why? What is so unbelievable about it?"

"Well", she blushed a little. "You seemed so sure. I had no idea you were as new to this as I am."

"Not having one-night stands doesn't mean I haven't had sex before, you know that, don't you? And what do you mean with "new to this"?", he sounded slightly alarmed now. "Seriously you're not saying... You're not _really _new to this, aren't you? I mean... you seemed to know pretty well what to do..."

Sybil snorted. "I'm not a virgin, no. But about the "You knew pretty well" part..., well you must have been more drunk than you realized. I'm not very good at this, but it was easy with you."

"Not very good at this? You must be kidding!" Tom exclaimed. "In case you didn't notice, Sybil, this was amazing."

"Maybe you're just easy to please?"

"I can't believe you don't know how good you are," Tom said in an astonished voice he shook his head and looked down on her. "Let me tell you then. I think you're gorgeous and incredibly sexy."

Sybil smiled. "Okay... I'll try to believe you."

He nodded. "You should!"

He let his head fall back on the pillow and they just laid there for a while in companionable silence.

"Tom?"

"Hm?"

"Let's just sleep, okay? Since we both don't know how to behave at a one-night stand, and I don't want you to go down to your cold apartment."

He turned on his side reached out with his arm and put her close to him.

"I'd like that", he murmured into her hair.

Sybil snuggled into the cocoon of his arms. It was nice to be held so close. She felt warm and content.

"You smell so nice", he whispered after a minute or so.

"And you feel good", Sybil chuckled and wiggled her bottom against him.

"Stop it, love", he murmured, his voice sleepy. "Or you'll wake him up again..."

Sybil opened her eyes._ Did he just call me "Love"? And did he just say "he" referring to his...?_

She grinned when his soft but steady breathing in her ear told her that Tom had fallen asleep. This experience of her first one-night stand really was interesting. She had supposed it would feel very awkward once the passion was sated, but actually it was nice.

And with this thought she drifted to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry this chapter is rather short, but it fit better that way. Thank you for the nice reviews I got, your comments are always very much appreciated! _

_I thank Scarlet again for her patience to edit this story for me!_

When Tom woke up, he was slightly disoriented and didn't know where he was. Then he felt the warm body of Sybil still in his arms and the events of the night came back to him. He closed his eyes again and allowed himself to just enjoy the feeling of her for a moment longer. She was obviously still fast asleep, her body snug against his own, one hand cradling his. Tom sighed and breathed in her scent that he had found so intoxicating last night: a certain mixture of vanilla, something flowery and her own personal scent. He remembered how it enveloped him last night when they kissed and later when they...

_"Man, I have to stop thinking about that right now"_. Suddenly he became all too aware of the fact that they were still both naked and that her smooth skin felt wonderful against his own. He just had to spread his fingers a bit and he could cup her breast, or he could let his hand slide down a bit, over her flat stomach down to...

Jesus, he could feel himself harden like a rock and if she woke up now, he could really embarrass himself. He had to get some space.

Carefully he disentangled his hand from hers and rolled on his back, taking some deep breaths to calm himself down. "_So what now?"_

He stood up, careful not to wake her and looked for his clothes. There they were, lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. "_Well, we didn't have time to think about clothes yesterday", _he thought with a smile.

Dressed in his boxers and a T-Shirt he went to the kitchen to make coffee, deciding that it was not good to have an awkward conversation without some caffeine first. He had just figured out how the machine worked, when Sybil appeared in the door, looking adorably sleepy.

"Morning", she mumbled in that slightly husky voice, that had him so completely undone yesterday.

"Good Morning", he smiled. "Merry Christmas. Sorry, I was up so I made some coffee. I hope that's okay?"

He handed her a cup. "Milk? Sugar?"

"Just milk, thank you." Sybil gave him a tiny smile, "And merry Christmas to you, too."

For a moment, they just stood there drinking at their coffee, both unsure what to do or say next.

"Listen", Tom finally started.

"I..."

Sybil blushed. "You first", she said.

"Okay. Well, I was going to say that... well, I don't want to sound like a cliché, but it really was... lovely."

Sybil looked down at her feet. "Yes, it was", she admitted. "But I feel awful now. I have never done anything as foolish as that before. I mean, sleeping with a perfect stranger..."

Tom looked at her intensely: "I told, you, I haven't either. But I mean we're both adults, right? And we used protection, so I don't think you have anything to feel bad about."

"I guess so", she sighed with a rueful grin. "I'm not normally like that,but I did actually enjoy it. "

Tom chuckled. "Don't make a habit out of it, though. I don't want to be held responsible for corrupting a formerly perfectly respectable woman."

Sybil just grinned and shook her head.

He sipped his coffee again. Then he asked. "I was wondering... I really imposed on your hospitality enough, but may I use your shower? Because you know my radiator..."

"Of course you may", Sybil answered. "And I will ring my father and ask him what we can do about your electricity problem."


	4. Chapter 4

After he left her apartment, freshly showered, Sybil didn't see Tom for the rest of the day. She heard him drill in the apartment at one point though and so she knew he had electricity again.

She tried to be busy all day, because if she was honest to herself, she didn't want to dwell too much on what had happened the night before.

A one-night stand! Really, she had never thought herself capable of doing something like that! She actually had never really cared that much about sex anyway. With, in hindsight now seemed not so surprising when this one night-stand had been by far the best sex she'd ever had. That was actually a good thing. She hadn't been exactly heartbroken when she split with her long-term boyfriend Larry Grey last spring, but it always nagged at her that she found him cheating on her with his secretary. It wasn't good for your self-confidence when your boyfriend told you he just had to have a "good shag" from time to time because "you suck at it".

She had tried to shrug that off, but she knew that comment had stung.

_"Not me, Larry. You were the one who sucked. Because I know now how really good it can feel if a man knows how to do it!",_ she thought with a slight smile.

Tom Branson. She thought about him downstairs in his apartment. What does he think of her? He had said she was "lovely" and "gorgeous" and "incredibly sexy". Wow. Even if he was just using lines, it still was kind of nice to hear something like that, especially if it came from a man who was so terribly hot himself. Oh dear, she was pathetic. She didn't need a one-night stand to gain self-confidence. She had enough to be proud of. She was intelligent, independent and successful, and before yesterday she'd thought that was enough.

She sighed and decided to go for a walk in the snow instead of sitting in her flat all day and thinking about her very uncharacteristic behaviour from the night before. She could just go into town even though the shops would be closed, but she needed some fresh air to clear her head. Maybe she would grab a coffee somewhere, too. Then she would come home, eat something in front of the TV, watch some corny Christmas special and then go to bed early and ... alone.

The walk did her good. She came home after two hours, her cheeks rosy and in good spirits. But then she almost bumped into Tom when she opened the door to the house and suddenly she was all awkward again.

"Oh," she stammered and to her horror blushed deeply when she recognized who was standing before her. "Sorry."

He seemed blissfully unaware of her embarrassment and just smiled as if he was happy to see her.

"Hi, Sybil," he said. "How are you?"

She mumbled something about being fine and then asked if he had electricity now, even though she knew he had, but she just wanted to say something.

"Yes! I'm fine now. I actually did get a lot done today, so I'm already feeling at home now. I was just taking out the garbage, but would you... would you like to see the apartment? I can even offer you a coffee now."

Her first instinct was to say no and run, but he was so eager and nice and yes, devastatingly handsome, she couldn't resist. So she nodded and heard herself saying, "Sure, yes, I'd like that."

She wasn't sure if it was a good idea though,


	5. Chapter 5

Tom was strangely happy to have met Sybil on his way out. He had worked like crazy all day, but his thoughts drifted to her again and again while he unpacked, hung up pictures and lamps, installed the kitchen and moved his furniture around.

He liked how the apartment looked now and was interested in her opinion, which was odd, because he didn't really know her. He tried to tell himself that it was because he had seen her apartment and so he knew she had good taste.

Truth be told though, he was very attracted to her, embarrassingly so. The moment she opened her apartment door last night had been a very odd moment, where he took in her whole appearance in one glance and it caused an immediate rush of blood through his whole body. She was just perfect. Face, eyes, lips, smile, skin, body... he couldn't help but stare and had probably stammered his request for a phone call very badly, but if he had, she didn't seem to notice.

Instead she had talked to him and her voice had sent the next rush of blood to his groin. Husky, deeper than he had thought and incredibly sexy. Whoa...

What followed was still a mystery to him. He had no idea what possessed him to kiss her when he said goodbye and he still didn't know how it happened that they ended up in bed together. It probably was a combination of too much wine on her side and too much lust on his. Otherwise, he couldn't explain what made her go through with it. She didn't seem the type to sleep with random men and had told him as much this morning. Still they had done it. Not that he minded, Jesus, no. It had been amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Now here she was in his apartment, sitting on his sofa, holding a cup of coffee in her hand and looking around curiously with a smile on those beautiful lips he had kissed not twelve hours ago.

"It's nice," she said. "And I'm astonished how good it looks already! To think you only had today to do that and all by yourself!"

"Well, I'm a bit of a handyman," he grinned. "Actually I was a mechanic before I went to uni, so I can work with my hands."

_"Yes you can," _Sybil thought and blushed furiously. Where did that thought come from? _"I clearly remember what your hands were capable of last night..."_

"You were a mechanic?" she asked hastily to cover her embarrassment.

Tom nodded. "Yes, I'm a working class kid, you know. No one in my family went to university. My father had a garage in Dublin and they expected me to take over someday. Luckily another brother of mine had more passion for cars than I and so I could follow my real ambition."

"They must be proud though, aren't they? That you're a journalist now?"

"I think they are. At least my mother is, my father died before I got my degree. But once I made the decision, he always supported me, so yes, I guess he's looking down here and proud of what I'm doing." Tom grinned, but there was something in his eyes that told her it still hurt him to talk about his father.

"I'm sorry," she said. "When did it happen?"

"Three years ago," he answered. "Heart attack. All the sudden."

He took another sip of coffee and changed the subject. "So tell me, why are you not with your family tonight? Are you on call?"

"No, it's just because of the weather. I had to work till yesterday evening and I didn't want to drive four hours in the snow. So I've decided to stay here. It's the first time I've not been home for Christmas ever, actually."

"Me, too," he said. "My mother was very upset and wanted to strangle me through the phone. Christmas is a big deal for the Bransons and we're normally all at home. I have two brothers, both married with children and a sister who's expecting and also married and all of us have to be there for Christmas and get fed." He laughed.

Sybil smiled. "Do you miss them?"

Tom looked at her for a long moment, a strange expression in his blue eyes. "Not as much as I probably should." He then smiled, too.

Somehow Sybil felt herself get all flustered under his gaze, hastily put her coffee down and stood.

"Well, I should probably be going," she said. "You probably still have work to do and ..."

"Do you have to?" he asked. At her surprised glanced, he blushed a little bit. "I mean, no, I don't have anything to do really. And actually I was wondering if we..."

"No, Tom, I don't think that's a good idea," Sybil interrupted him. "I mean we really just met and..."

"Actually I was just wanting to ask you, if you would like to go to dinner with me sometime." Tom continued.

Sybil hesitated. "You mean like a real date?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I'll be honest with you, Sybil. I really like you. So yes, I want to ask you out."

"Isn't that a bit odd, considering that we already had... I mean you know..."

He smiled his cocky half smile. "Why should it be awkward? We go out on a date, you won't let me kiss you, because you never do that on a first date, then we'll go on another and another and then maybe if you like me, we'll already know what to look forward to."

Sybil blushed, then looked at him and raised her chin.

"You're right," she said. "I never kiss on the first date."

He grinned. "I figured."

God, he was hot when he did that. Sybil felt butterflies in her stomach. _"What the heck"_, she thought. _"Life's short."_

So she gave him a look under her lashes. "Why don't we just skip all that dating thing?"

She had the satisfaction to see his jaw drop. But he recovered quickly, she had to give him that. He just reached out with his hands and pulled her to him. Leaning in to kiss her, he murmured against her lips: "Aye, why don't we?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you to all of you who commentedso kindly on the story. I really appreciate it! _

_This chapter sadly is the shortest in the story, but you'll understand why I just HAD to end it at this point when you've read it. _

_I'll try to post every day, so please keep reading. It means a lot to me if you enjoy it!_

This time it wasn't frenzied and passionate like the night before. Instead it was so slow and tender and really wonderful, that Sybil actually had to swallow hard when she came down from her shuddering climax so she wouldn't start to cry.

Afterwards they lay both on their sides, staring at one another with a huge smile on their faces.

"The most incredible, wonderful afternoon sex, hm?" Tom said softly. "I don't think that's in the description for something casual, is it?"

Sybil shook her head. "I don't think so."

He reached out and stroke her face. "What is happening here, Sybil?" he asked with a slight tremble, betraying his uncertainty.

"I have no idea," she sighed. "But I like it, don't you?"

"I do," he smiled. "God, I really do. I just feel a bit like I'm about to wake up from this dream at any moment. It can't be real, can it? You can't fall for someone in minutes... and I feel like I'm falling for you so hard."

"Until yesterday I would have said it is impossible," she said honestly. "I'm not so sure any more. It sure feels that way for me, too."

His hand drew her closer and he kissed her showing her how he felt without words. As the kiss grew more heated, Sybil relaxed and let the feeling of tenderness wash over her. She relished the closeness, the warmth of his arms, the smoothness of his skin against hers, his taste, his hands stroking her, exciting her ... it was impossible what she felt, but she was past the point of caring what it meant. She just felt. Felt and enjoyed.

Suddenly there was a ring at the door.

"Who in hell can that be?" Tom groaned.

It rang again. He looked down on her with a comical expression of desperation.

It rang a third time.

"Fuck!" he swore. "Whoever this is, I'll kill him!" He stood up, and put on his jeans without even bothering to put on his boxers first.

"Don't move," he said to Sybil, who was lying on his bed, slightly dishevelled, her eyes, half lidded with passion and her lips swollen from his kisses.

With another groan he went to the door barefoot and without a shirt.

"Ah! There you are, Tommy! I was almost afraid you wouldn't be home! Did you just come out of the shower?"

"Ma?!"


	7. Chapter 7

_So here I give you a longer chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it! Thanks again for all the nice comments to this story!_

"Honestly, Tommy, did you think we would all abandon you on Christmas! No way! So Niall booked us a flight and a hotel and here we are! Don't be alarmed, we brought all the food!" His mother stepped into his apartment without hesitation and looked curiously around her.

Niall and Kieran also followed together with his nephews and nieces.

"Nice to see you, bro", his sister, Moyra, said and kissed him on his cheek. "What were you doing? You look a bit underdressed."

"I was just... uh...," Tom stuttered, dumbfounded.

"I know you said, don't move, but I was wondering what took you so long, so I...", Sybil said, coming out of the bedroom, wearing his shirt and nothing else, stopping dead at the sight of the suddenly very quiet and shocked Branson family in front of her.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

Kieran let out a whistle. "Holy shit, Tommy," he laughed.

"Don't say shit, Kieran," his mother chided automatically. "Not in front of the kids."

Suddenly Tom awoke from his stupor and went to Sybil.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Turning to his family, he said. "Well, all, this is Sybil. We'll be right back" and ushered her back into the bedroom.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned heavily against it and drew a deep breath.

"I'm so terribly sorry," he repeated to Sybil. "I really, honest to god, had no idea they were coming here!"

He watched her with a heavy heart. Did his family blow everything now? Things had been progressing so well with Sybil and he really, really didn't want to scare her now.

To his huge amazement, Sybil was laughing though. "Oh my... how embarrassing! I always thought something like that only happened in movies!"

Reluctantly he broke into a grin, too. "I'll never hear the end of that, trust me."

"What now?" she giggled. "Is there a window through which I can escape?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not." Not sure how she might react, he tentatively said: "Come on, let's face them together. They'll be polite to you, I swear. They'll be only teasing me for the rest of my life."

She just grinned and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Then she started redressing.

"I'm glad we didn't start our little session in the living room," she remarked. "At least all our clothes are in here!"

He just looked at her. Then he walked over, took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.

"You're great, you know that?" he said with awe. "The most wonderful girl I've ever met."

"What in heaven's name were you doing with that girl? Why haven't you mentioned before that you had a girlfriend?" Tom's mother hissed a little later, after she dragged him into the kitchen pretending to need his help to find her way around the cupboards.

Tom rolled his eyes, avoiding her last question. "Come on, Ma. Don't pretend you don't know what we were doing."

"On Christmas day of all days," she said, reproachfully. "It's a sin."

Tom laughed. "It's always a sin, Ma. Need I remind you? On Christmas it is not worse than on any other day."

"Don't distract me with a theological debate. I want to know about that girl now," his mother demanded. "Is it something serious?"

Tom had the grace to blush a little. _If only you knew, Ma, that I met her not 24 hours ago and we already had sex twice._

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I like her a lot though. And I fancy her like crazy."

"Fancy her!" his mother complained. "I wouldn't think you're almost thirty years old. I mean look at her! She seems nice enough from what I saw, but she must make much more money than you do, Tom. God, the clothes she's wearing. I'm no expert, but I'm a woman and I swear that Jeans was not bought at Penney's!"

"She's a doctor,and her father is the owner of the house here." Tom shrugged his shoulders. "So what? I'm making good money myself. What is the point in all that? You don't know her at all, do you?"

He was getting annoyed now, so he just left his mother standing in the kitchen and went to look after Sybil. He found her sitting on the sofa and talking to Moyra who stood up when he sat down next to her.

"Is Ma in the kitchen, Tommy? I promised to help her with the cooking," she said and left them alone.

"Hi," he greeted Sybil and couldn't stop the odd warm feeling in his stomach and the happy smile that made the corners of his mouth turn upward.

"Hi!" She smiled back, her face betraying her uncertainty about the whole situation. "Actually I was just saying that I should go up to my flat. I don't want to interrupt your family evening."

"If anyone was interrupting something it's them," he groaned, frustrated. "Don't go," he pleaded. "I promise the food is worth it and I feel so horrible to bring you in this situation in the first place. They can behave, really."

"I don't doubt it. But I feel like I'm intruding."

"No, you're not," he said. "I mean, if you're bored, of course I'd understand that you would want to spend your evening doing something other than talking to the Bransons, but if you're not, please stay. I'd be happy if you do. I'm worried that if you go now, you might never want to see me again."

He looked into her eyes. "And that would be really, really bad."

"No," she shook her head. "You don't need to worry about that. I'm already determined to get to know you better, I thought I made that pretty clear earlier?" She raised her eyebrows.

He grinned, his eyes growing suddenly dark with desire and he kissed her cheek tenderly. "I would so love to have more proof of that determination," he whispered in her ear. "You think I can tell them to sod off as soon as we had Dinner? Will you please stay then?"

Sybil suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. "I guess", she nodded. "I will."

"Oh come on, Tommy, stop it," he heard Niall's voice from across the room. "Leave the poor girl alone for now. Do you have something to drink in the apartment?"

Tom rolled his eyes and stood. "I'll get you something. But I just moved in here yesterday, so I'm not really prepared to having guests here. All I can offer is some beer."

"Guinness?" his brother asked hopefully.

"No, Lager", Tom said. "They didn't have Guinness in the supermarket around the corner."

"Now sit, children!" his mother's voice shouted from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!" She came out with a big turkey on a plate.

"Wow, Ma," Tom said and held the chair next to him for Sybil. "How did you manage that? You can't have cooked the turkey in just an hour!"

His mother smiled proudly. "I made him yesterday and so I just had to warm it. Did the same with the potatoes and the stuffing. I couldn't just let you be all alone at Christmas in London."

"He didn't seem very lonely to me," Kieran grinned and Tom kicked him under the table. "But the turkey looks good, Ma."

"It looks delicious," Sybil said warmly.

"So, Sybil," Tom's mother started when they all had their food. "Tom said you are a doctor?"

"Yes, I am," Sybil answered. "I work at a hospital not far from here. It's just a few minutes."

"Moyra is a nurse," Kieran said. "But right now she's on maternity leave."

"Yes, she told me."

"What is your specialty?" Moyra asked and Tom realized that he didn't know either. They hadn't gotten that far. There was so much he wanted to know about her.

"Paediatric oncology," Sybil answered and noticed Tom looking up and staring at her with slightly shocked eyes.

"Oh dear," Tom's mother said. "That must be so hard."

Sybil nodded. "It is," she said truthfully. "But it's also very rewarding. If you are able to help it is the best feeling in the world. If you're not though ... it is absolutely devastating."

Tom searched for her hand under the table and squeezed it. He was moved she could sense that. She smiled at him and squeezed back. It was oddly nice to feel his warm fingers envelop her own. She found that she didn't want to let go of his hand and decided to indulge herself. So she just ate with her other hand and Tom did the same, not caring about the amused glances his brothers gave them.

They didn't take part in the lively conversation that now developed between Tom's siblings and their spouses. They just sat there, content to listen and holding hands. From time to time, Tom looked towards her and smiled and she smiled back. Sybil didn't know what was happening, but each time he looked at her she felt as if she had never been more happy in her life.


	8. Chapter 8

_I hope everyone found the chapter I posted yesterday, because for some unknown reason the story didn't appear on top. So if something doesn't seem right about this chapter, go back and check if you read chapter 7, lol._

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"What are you doing on New Year's Eve?" Sybil asked Tom much later.

Tom decided not to kick his family out after dinner, so they stayed for a couple of hours and it had actually been a very nice and lively evening. Sybil had enjoyed the warmth of the family's easy banter and conversation. It was clear to her where Tom got his charm, because his brothers had it, too, even if Kieran and Niall, in her admittedly biased opinion, weren't nearly as attractive as their brother. But all the Branson men were funny and quick-witted as was their mother. Moyra was more silent. She looked serene and content and always slightly amused about her lively brothers and Sybil wondered if she got that from her father.

It was nearly midnight, when the family finally took their leave and went to their hotel. For a second Sybil felt awkward and didn't know if she should at least make an impression of going to leave, too even if she certainly didn't want to, but Tom simply held her hand in his while he said goodbye to his family, thanking them for coming all the way from Dublin and without ever letting go of her he finally closed the door behind them.

He didn't say a word then, losing no time to take Sybil in his arms, kissing her like he had thought of nothing else for the last couple of hours or so and if he was honest, he hadn't.

Sybil found herself responding. There was no pretence between them any more and it didn't take them long to end up exactly where they had been when the Bransons had turned up earlier in the evening, their clothes scattered on the floor and both lying on his bed, out of breath and staring at one other. Tom was playing with her hair, stroking it out of her face and grinning when her curls always tended to fall over her eyes again as soon as she made a slight move with her head.

It was then, that Sybil asked about his plans for New Year's Eve.

"I don't know", he said. "But since you ask, I'd like to spend it with you. Actually", he sighed, "I know it sounds crazy, but I don't want to spend an evening without you right now."

She smiled. "Be careful what you wish for. I'm going to Downton to visit my parents, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

Tom raised his eyebrows. "To your parents? The Earl?"

"He's not that bad, and yes, to my parents. I must warn you though. It's a pretty boring dinner event every year", Sybil said. "So my reason to ask is purely selfish. It would be nice to have at least someone there who's under a hundred years old. Except my sisters that is."

"If you want me to come, I'll do it," he promised. "But do you think they're OK with it? I have no idea how to behave at a dinner with an Earl."

"Just follow my lead" she smiled. "It's not that difficult. Actually there's one thing though ..." She seemed to be unsure how to say it.

He looked at her in askance.

"I don't suppose you own a tux?" she asked. "If not, that's not a problem, we can rent one for you."

"Well ..."

"Or we could ask my cousin Matthew, he's about your height I think and he has a spare. In fact, I could call him and ask him if you want, it's really not a problem ..."

"Sybil!"

She stopped mid sentence, realizing that she was babbling.

He grinned at her. "Actually I own a tux."

"You do?" she asked surprised.

"Yes," he said. "I don't have one-night stands and I own a tux. You do have to learn a lot about me, don't you?"

"Obviously!" she said. "You're full of surprises."

He grinned and rolled her over so she was under him. "How about I show you more?"


	9. Chapter 9

On Boxing Day, Sybil had to go to work again and Tom, who would only start his new job after New Year, spent the day with his family. He was feeling a little bit guilty that he hadn't been as welcoming and grateful for their visit, as he normally would've been so he planned to make it up to them before they had to leave in the afternoon.

They had a great time, doing the tourist thing. Tom had visited London a lot before he moved here permanently for his new job, but the rest of his family had never been there so he was happy to show them around.

Over lunch his mother took the opportunity to ask him about Sybil again. She was clearly curious how they met and how long this relationship has been going on, but Tom avoided giving a straight answer. It wasn't that he was ashamed of what they had done, but he felt it was their private business. So he just kept being mystical about it and his mother was getting annoyed.

"I'm going to meet her parents on New Year's Eve." He finally gave her that as some kind of peace offering.

"Oh!" his mother exclaimed giving him a sharp look. "Then it _is_ serious after all, isn't it?"

Tom laughed. "Why is that so important to you?"

"I just want you to be happy," she said. "And I don't want to see one of my boys sleeping around. It's not how I raised you."

Tom had the grace to blush. "I don't, Ma, really," he mumbled. "But do you have to get so Catholic on me?"

She smiled. "If you call that Catholic, you didn't pay much attention in Mass, Tom Branson. But tell me about meeting her parents? Where do they live?"

"Her father actually owns the building where I live. He seems to be rich, from all what I've heard and they have a family estate. Downton Abbey. It's in Yorkshire."

"An estate?" his mother asked, shocked.

"Yes, I actually heard of it before. Seems to be pretty big. But they're not living there, part of it is open to the public and they just visit it in the summer and over the holidays."

She stared at him in disbelief and he sighed.

"I know, Ma. She's way out of my league. I have no idea where this is heading and how it is going to work. But right now I feel like I know what I want, so here we are. I'm going to meet her parents, try to be on my best behaviour and hopefully they won't hate me."

Thankfully his mother was too shocked to say more so they joined the conversation among his siblings. Tom caught her giving him doubtful glances from time to time for the rest of their meal, but decided to ignore them.

When they finally said goodbye at the airport a few hours later, he kissed her on the cheek and smiled.

"Don't worry about me, Ma. I'll be fine."

She grimaced but left it at that. "Call me when you finish your first day of work." she grabbed the hand of her youngest niece.

Tom promised and waved them all goodbye as they walked to the boarding area. When he couldn't see them any more he turned around and went to the tube station. He took the tube back into town and since he was in the area anyway, he decided to go to the hospital and pick Sybil up from work. She had told him she would finish around 4:30 in the afternoon and if he had to wait a bit for her, he wouldn't mind either.

After asking the receptionist for Dr. Crawley he was told she was on the fifth floor so he went up with the elevator and saw Sybil instantly when the door opened. She was standing in the middle of the hall, holding a small child in her arms, who was no more than four years old. The little girl had no hair and was obviously distressed, because she was crying.

"Now there, Jenny," Sybil said softly to her. "Don't cry Darling, Mommy will come back, tomorrow. You know that, right?"

She looked up and saw him standing there. A smile lit her face and he couldn't help returning this smile broadly.

"Look, Jenny," she said to the little girl. "Here's a friend of mine. Why don't we go and meet him? Jenny, this is Tom. Tom, this is Jenny."

Jenny looked at him curiously, her distress obviously forgotten.

"Hey," Tom said gently and smiled at them both. "I thought I could pick you up."

Sybil nodded. "Sure. I just have to get little Jenny back in her room." She set Jenny on the floor and the girl ran down the hall to a room at the very end.

"She was upset because her parents had to leave," she said quietly to him. "Most children could be sent home for the holidays, but Jenny had her chemotherapy today so she had to stay. It's not her first treatment, and she's used to it, but I guess on the holidays it's harder than usual."

Tom swallowed. The reality of such a little girl having to go through chemotherapy hit him hard. He watched as Sybil helped Jenny return to her bed and switch on her CD player. There was another bed in the room, but no child in it.

"Nurse Gwen is going to look after you in a few minutes, Jenny, okay? And she'll bring Lucy back with her so you won't be alone any more."

Jenny nodded and smiled. She took her Teddy bear and snuggled it to her, obviously getting tired, because her eyelids dropped slightly.

"She's going to sleep in a few minutes," Sybil explained when they had closed the door behind them. "The chemotherapy makes them incredibly tired. But at least she never gets sick. She handles it really well. Two more cycles and she's through with it."

"What does she have?" Tom asked.

"Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma," Sybil said. "Most of the children here have it. This or Leukaemia. It's one of the "better" cancers if you can say so. Her chances are actually very good and she'll be fine soon, I hope."

Tom nodded. He didn't trust that he could say something without revealing his emotions. Seeing Sybil here at her work fighting for the life of little children moved him immensely.

Sybil had to check some things and then she talked for a while with a nurse that came down the hall with another little girl on her hand. Nurse Gwen obviously. Then she was ready to leave.

It was too early to have dinner, so they grabbed a coffee to go and sat down on a bench in St. James Park. It was cold, but there was still some snow, glistening in the evening sun. Tom had his arm around Sybil and she snuggled close to him. He was quiet, still thinking about her work and contemplating what he had seen.

"Why did you chose this field," he finally asked. "It must be so very hard."

"Actually I think that's why I chose it. I thought a lot about it when I studied and I realized I really wanted to help people as much as I possibly could. Those children, they have done nothing wrong in their life and still they have to suffer so badly. It is hard, but I really want to do anything I can to help them."

"But how do you manage if you can't?"

Sybil sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't really", she answered truthfully. "You develop very close relationships with the children in your care and their parents, too. With patients like Jenny, you can often help them. The children's prognosis are mostly good, but of course there are cases when there are complications and they die regardless of what you do. And then there are some kinds of cancer that are still incurable. There's one form of a brain tumour for example that unfortunately hits children where you really can't do a single thing. It is very rare, but it is an absolute nightmare! I have to tell the parents and I see their disbelief and their hope that there must be something. Any chance you know, _something, anything! _And unfortunately, I can't give them that because I know what will happen. Those days are absolutely horrible, really. I hold myself together for the parents and then I break down completely. I cry, I doubt and I'm devastated every single time. I shouldn't let it affect me that much, but it does and I have no idea how to shield myself from the pain. There are doctors on the team who are more able to cope than I am." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He could see the pain in her eyes, but then she smiled. "Still I wouldn't change anything for the world. I can't really explain it."

Tom stared down on her. "You're amazing", he whispered. "I can't believe just how amazing you are."

They sat in silence for a while, each sipping their cooling coffee and in thoughts. The sun was almost down now and the temperature dropped, so Tom stood up and pulled her up to him.

"Let's go home", he said.

Together they strolled to the tube. Tom held her hand in his own and wondered where this was leading. They only knew each other for three days! Even if it was obvious they both wanted to develop a relationship here, it was ridiculous to feel they had one already. And even more ridiculous to feel like being in love. But he really did.


	10. Chapter 10

_I don't know why, but yesterday's update again didn't put the story on top. So if you missed the chapter yesterday: There was one!_

_Now, it's off to Downton for Sybil and Tom. Enjoy!_

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"Okay, now tell me, what should I expect of this dinner tonight," Tom said when they were on they way to Downton.

The rest of the week after Christmas had passed in a blur. By mutual understanding, they spent as much time with each other as they could, both feeling slightly anxious if the other would think they were moving too fast, but also both enjoying each other's company way too much not to be just happy and go with it.

Sybil had to work every day and Tom had used the time to finish the work in his flat and to prepare for his new job. He paid a short visit to his new office and met the new colleagues and his editor. Everyone had been nice and friendly and he had the feeling he would like it there. In fact, he couldn't wait to start now that he settled in London.

When Sybil came from work he had cooked for her. He enjoyed cooking and Sybil told him this talent came in very handy, because she wasn't much of a cook. She confessed to him that they had had a housekeeper at home who cooked their meals, did their laundry and cleaned the house. She only learned to do the basics when she left home to go to university.

"At first I thought I had to die starving," she told him. "But after a while I learned it. I'm not that great though. Definitely not as good as you are."

They watched TV together and one evening they went to see a movie, but mostly they just talked. Oddly they didn't run out of topics. They found out they both were avid readers and that they nearly never agreed on books, still both enjoying their heated discussions a great deal. They also shared a mutual interest in politics. Tom as a political journalist naturally took a great interest in the world, but he found out Sybil was as well informed as he was. With respect to their political views, they were very much alike. Both were decidedly left wing, which, as Sybil explained, was something he probably should avoid mentioning in conversations with her father who according to her was a "total Tory".

He knew a lot about her family now, about her two sisters Mary and Edith and how they grew up together. As he had suspected the family was very rich and Sybil obviously had grown up completely differently than he had. Still he had the feeling their current lives weren't all that different. He wasn't sure why, but her rich background didn't worry him as much as it probably should have.

They also did make love a lot. When she was around, Tom found himself in an almost constant state of arousal and he found he couldn't keep his hands from her. He'd had his share of girlfriends and he had always been a passionate lover, but he had never been so crazy about a woman before. She just had to look at him in a certain way, he just had to catch her smile and he melted away and he could feel the blood rushing in his ears and elsewhere in his body. He had imagined himself being in love before, but this time he really was .

As for Sybil, she enjoyed Tom's company immensely. Five years his junior, she didn't have as much experience with relationships. Larry Grey, with whom she had broken up earlier this year had been her first steady boyfriend and now that she looked at her relationship with him in hindsight, she couldn't but shake her head about how she could have even contemplated that what she had with Larrry could be called love.

She didn't know if it was love with Tom either. She was realistic enough to think it impossible after just a few days. But Sybil also was brave enough and honest enough to admit her feelings to herself, and her feelings were that she had never felt as passionately about anyone in her life. Regardless if it was love or not, it was wonderful and she was determined not to waste time doubting or questioning it. If anything, her job told her to live for the moment and so she decided to take the chance and just be with him.

"You will be bored to death probably, but I'll make sure you'll get your reward later," Sybil answered his question about what to expect from the dinner.

"Oh," Tom raised an eyebrow. "Well that's definitely something to look forward to."

"Yes, I knew you would think so. That's why I brought it up. So you won't hate me during dinner, because the guests are all really boring and conservative. I'm sure that the hair on that labour neck of yours will be sticking up at some of their views."

"Oh dear," he said. "Good thing we've been on our way for an hour now. Otherwise I would seriously consider jumping out of the car, right now."

"You're brave, aren't you?" Sybil laughed. "There are some nice people there, too. My sisters are okay for example, at least if they don't place them next to one another. Mary's a bit snobbish and bitchy on first impression, but she's a darling underneath that cool exterior. And Edith is well... Edith. Unlucky in love most of the time and still in search of her inner self. But she's getting there and I think you'll like her."

"And your parents? Will they hate me?" Tom asked.

"Why should they hate you?" Sybil asked light-heartedly.

"Maybe because I'm just an Irish left-wing journalist, who's parents own a garage and who has never seen a family estate from the inside?

Sybil shrugged her shoulders. "So what? I don't care."

Tom grinned. "Well, I'm definitely glad about that," he said. "But I take it I have to be prepared not to be welcomed with open arms?"

"My mother will be nice," Sybil said. "And my father will be polite. I can at least guarantee that ... I think."

Tom laughed. "So how did your former boyfriends handle it? Or did you never bring one?"

"The only one I brought was Larry "the wanker" as you call him, and they've known him all their lives so there wasn't a problem."

Tom was amazed. "You must either love or hate me," he said. "You asked me to come with you when you hadn't known me for longer than twenty-four hours!"

Sybil glanced at him. "As you might have noticed, I tend to do a lot of things a bit faster with you than with everyone else."

"Ah yes," he sighed happily. "I noticed and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! So let's just hope I live up to your expectations."

"You will," Sybil smiled. "Oh, there's something else though ... I should warn you, we're going to have separate rooms."

"What?!"

Sybil laughed at the shock in his face. "Aren't you happy about that? Finally a good night's sleep after a week of exhaustion?" she teased.

Tom just looked at her and she laughed again.

"No, seriously, it's just for show. We'll have separated rooms and I'll sneak secretly into yours later on in the night."

"Oh my, So I'll be waiting for you like a 19th century bride on her wedding night?"

"Exactly."


	11. Chapter 11

"Wow, Sybil you look so ... good enough to eat, actually," Tom said when they met on top of the stairs a few hours later, admiring Sybil's outfit for the evening with a certain gleam in his eyes that made her heart flutter and wish that the dinner was over already so she could give him his "reward".

"Likewise," Sybil gave back the compliment and she really meant it. Tom was handsome anyway, but in a tuxedo he really did looked terrific.

They had met Sybil's parents when they arrived and Tom had been greeted in a friendly manner. Aside from a barely hidden grimace on Robert Crawley's face when Tom had mentioned that he was soon going to be working for "The Guardian" in London, everything went well. Sybil's mother, Cora, was a nice woman, pretty and graceful and she welcomed him warmly. If she was surprised that Sybil brought a man, who – as they knew - had just moved into their London apartment house a week ago and who was now openly affectionate toward their youngest daughter, she didn't show it. Neither did her husband, who was friendly enough to ask if his electricity problem had been solved to his satisfaction and if he liked the new flat.

Sybil had also presented him to Mary and Edith who were exactly as she had told him and to Matthew, who was – as she told him – a fourth cousin and whom he liked instantly. He was a very nice person; a solicitor from London and it didn't take long for them to find their way into an easy conversation.

After tea they were shown to their rooms and Sybil had winked at him when Carson the Butler lead him to a room three doors further down the hall than Sybil's was. "See?" she mouthed to him behind Carson's back and he had difficulty to wipe the grin from his face when Carson turned around.

"I hope everything is to your liking, Mr. Branson," he said. "If you need anything, feel free to ask."

The room was beautiful, as was the whole house. Tom had to admit, he had been really impressed when they turned the last corner on their way here and he had seen the house for the first time. He had expected a grand house, but not this grand! It was more a castle than a house and when they stepped into the impressive hall, he couldn't help but stare. The library where they took their tea wasn't any less rich. He looked around in awe when he saw all these books and Sybil told him that her father owned one of the most valuable collections of books in the country.

"Ready for the dreadful event?" Sybil was now asking him only half-joking.

"As ready as I can be," he grinned and winked at her.

"Ah, there you are," her mother greeted them when they came down the stairs. "The Greys have just arrived, Sybil, I hope you'll be polite to Larry, won't you?"

"Larry is here?!" Sybil asked, her voice rising.

"Yes he is," her mother answered. "You know the Greys come every year, darling. You can't be surprised about that!"

Sybil fumed. "Sorry, for assuming that after you knew he cheated on me, you would have considered not including him in an invitation that included me!"

She stomped out of the hall into the library, dragging Tom behind her.

"So I suppose that means I'm going to meet the wanker," Tom said to her while Sybil paced back and forth in the library.

"I guess so," she answered. "I can't believe they did that! Would you believe it?"

Tom caught her by the wrist and pulled her close to him. "Think positive," he said soothingly. "At least you know his wanking days aren't over. Not after he'll see you in this dress!"

Sybil burst out laughing. "Thank you."

"Just the truth," Tom grinned. He kissed her softly. Then again not so softly.

"God, you look so sexy in that dress," he murmured. "How am I supposed to make it through dinner?"

"I don't know," Sybil said flinging her arms around his neck and returning his kiss. She pressed her body snug to his in the process and heard him gasp. Things became heated pretty fast, with Tom turning them around so she was leaning against one of the huge bookshelf and kissing her deeply, his hands roaming down her back to the hem of her very short dress.

"Are you wearing what I think you're wearing?" he groaned when his hands moved up her leg and touched silk, then lace and then skin.

"Reward," Sybil moaned in his mouth, when suddenly they heard footsteps outside the library and they broke apart hastily.

"Sybil?" Mary opened the door. "Are you in here? You must come and say hello now. Mum is getting agitated."

"Yeah right," Sybil muttered. She smiled at Tom though, reaching up with her hand and wiped away a bit of her lipstick off his face. "So there. Here you go. My colour suits you though."

She grinned at Mary's raised eyebrows and Tom chuckled. "Let's face the dragon," Sybil said bravely.


	12. Chapter 12

Dinner went surprisingly well. Cora had been wise enough to place Sybil and Tom next to each other and as far away from Larry Grey as possible. He was, as Tom noted, constantly staring at Sybil with an arrogant smirk on his face. As the dinner progressed, Tom slowly started to feel angry.

"I'm not a violent person, but I swear Sybil, I'm ready to punch the wanker's face now." he muttered under his breath when she asked him why he looked so serious.

"Don't," she said. "He's not worth it." She leaned closer. "Let's just wipe that silly smirk from his face, will you?"

Tom gave her that cheeky grin that made her want to rip his clothes off then and there. "I'd love to, but how far can we go here?"

Sybil sighed. "Actually right now not much, I'm afraid, but we should give him something to think about later." She then gave him her best sultry look.

She chuckled at his satisfied grin and nod and turned to talk to her other dinner neighbour, a middle-aged man named Strallan. He found himself seated next to Matthew's mother Isobel. It could have been worse. She was as easy to talk to as her son and Tom found he liked her. He was delighted to learn after a few courses that her views were of a more liberal bent. She asked him about his previous work at _The Irish Times_ and how he came to work for _The Guardian_ now, admitting that she was a loyal subscriber.

"Well, then you'll be reading my articles soon," he said with a polite smile . "I hope you'll like them. I'll start the day after tomorrow."

"Robert and Violet will have the fits over that," she said in obvious satisfaction. "They think _The Guardian_ is almost a communist newspaper." Tom had some difficulty keeping from laughing. It seemed to him that Isobel and Sybil's grandmother didn't get along very well.

After they finished dinner the party moved to the Library. More drinks were offered, more conversation held and basically everyone waited for midnight to arrive.

Tom chatted with Matthew for a while and they decided they would meet one day for lunch since their offices were in the same area of the town. Mary and Edith were standing nearby and Tom noticed that there was a certain tension between Mary and Matthew. He couldn't quite place it. Was it hostility? That was unlikely, because they seemed to search one another's company, but still they never looked comfortable around each other.

"Hostility?" Sybil laughed when he cornered her a few minutes later. "These two totally have the hots for each other, but they're both in dysfunctional relationships with someone else!"

"What?"

"I'm telling you, I have no idea why it is that way, but Matthew has a really nice but boring long term girlfriend named Lavinia and Mary is officially together with Richard Carlisle."

Tom made a face when she mentioned the rich tabloid owner. "You're not serious?"

Sybil nodded for emphasis. "I sure am! The weird thing is neither of them seems happy. And you could easily cut that sexual tension between Mary and Matthew with a knife. I wish to God they would come to their senses!"

"So why are their respective other halfs not here tonight?"

"If I wouldn't know it any better, I would say my mother has probably poisoned them, because she so much want for the two love birds to get together, but it seems Carlisle had "other engagements" and Lavinia wanted to spend New Year with her parents, after spending Christmas with Matthew."

Tom laughed. "I must say your family is really interesting. I don't know why you were so worried. I'm having a great time." He then grimaced. "Except for him," he said pointing in Larry Grey's direction whose decidedly drunk stare was still on Sybil. "He's actually creepy."

"He is," Sybil shuddered. "I have no idea how I could have been together with him for more than a year. But it was around the time I finished university. I was a nervous wrack and probably not really in my right mind."

She smiled up to him. "I am definitely in my right mind now and I can truly say, that I'm very happy you are here tonight. Thank you for being so incredibly nice."

He smiled back and leaned down to kiss her softly. "My pleasure," he said. " There's nowhere else I want to be." He kissed her again, relishing in the softness of her lips. And then he leaned in a third time, partly because he just couldn't get enough and partly just for the satisfaction to see the angry look of jealousy on Larry Grey's face again. He made sure this one was long, lingering and sensual and when it ended he had almost forgotten about Larry Grey.

"Hmm," Sybil murmured. "When is it going to be midnight?"

Tom looked at his watch. "About half an hour to go still," he said with a disappointed sigh. "What shall we do for the remaining time? Punching the wanker's face finally? Or just mingle again?" he looked around.

Sybil thought about it for a second. "No," she said then with a smirk. She took his hand and dragged him out of the room. "Enough of that. Let's just get out of here."


	13. Chapter 13

_Well, guys, this is the last chapter. As you will notice: nothing but fluff. I'm in awe with authors who are able to come up with great ideas for plot and angst and I love to read it. Sadly I can't write it though! I had such fun writing this story, I hope it was a nice read for you, too._

_._

_I thank you all so much, who left comments for me, especially , changeshappenfast, Downtongirl, readingfrenzy and Welshmama, who reviewed so regularly. You really made me happy, guys!_

_._

_And a last big thank you to Scarlet, who edited the story for me. I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much!_

_._

.

"Where were you at midnight, Sybil?" her mother asked at breakfast. "I was looking for you, but I couldn't find you. Didn't you see the fireworks?"

"Oh, I did," Sybil mumbled and looked down to hide the blush that was creeping up her face. It had been indeed fireworks at midnight. Just not those her mother was referring to...

When she had pulled Tom out of the library she went straight to the kitchen with him. Making sure no one was around she ran to the fridge in the storeroom and fetched a bottle of champagne. She then got two champagne glasses out of a cupboard and grinned at him.

"Come," she whispered and ran up the stairs quickly, with Tom hot on her heels. She squealed when he caught her midway and carried her up the last steps. On the top of the stairs he pushed her gently against one of the columns there and kissed her tenderly and deeply, but she broke the kiss after awhile to pull him with her again to her room.

Giggling and fumbling they tumbled together on her bed, after getting rid of the bottle and the glasses, but their laughter quickly changed into something else. They were staring at each other, and then they were kissing and stroking and trying to get as close as possible to one another. Passion flared and warmth transformed into an agonizing heat within seconds, hands were touching and exploring, their kisses becoming deeper still, tongues caressing and moaning into each other's mouths.

Tom groaned loudly when he felt her body under his own, still new to him but already recognizing her responses. She was moving, rubbing against him, trying to get even nearer, her sighs getting louder and becoming moans.

His hands actually shook when he helped her getting rid of that dress he had so admired on her. But now he just wanted to see her and feel her skin against his own as fast as possible.

Sybil had never in her life been so eager before. She was short of ripping off his shirt just to get her hands on his skin, to feel his warmth and smoothness under her fingers. It was a new feeling of desire, real desire that drove her past the point to care for the first time in her life.

When it finally happened, it was breathtaking. It was a shuddering moment in which their world shattered into a million pieces at once and then they both _saw_ fireworks.

They didn't move or talk for a while, just lay there, still joined and still not willing to give up a millimetre of that closeness. Tom shifted his weight a bit, afraid to be too heavy for her, but Sybil held her arms tightly around him and kept him as close as she could. She pressed her face into his neck and sighed contently.

"Can we stay this way forever?" she whispered.

"I'd like that," Tom murmured back. "I think it would be difficult at work though."

Sybil chuckled.

Tom stroke her back and thought about the amazing week they had. He was sure he had never felt so content in his life. But suddenly a thought struck him.

"I think we missed New Year already," he smiled against her hair.

"Oh!" Sybil raised her head. "Did we?" She looked at the clock on her night stand. "We did."

Tom rolled them around so they were facing each other, but still holding each other as close as they could.

"Happy new year, Sybil," he said and kissed her softly.

"Happy new year", she smiled and kissed him back. "If I may say so, this was the best New year's eve I've ever had."

"Yes," he agreed. "And the best Christmas, too."

He looked into her eyes. "Oh Sybil," he then sighed. "I'm so very very happy to have met you. Will you please spend next Christmas with me, and next New Year, too? Perhaps every year after that as well?"

"I hope so," she whispered. "I really do."

"I love you, you know," he murmured. "I don't care if I've known you only for a week. I know I love you and I have never been more sure of anything in my life."

Sybil felt tears rise in her eyes. She looked at him smiling, seeing his beautiful blue eyes full of love and sincerity and wondered how it happened that she had been so lucky. Lucky that he was offered the job in London, lucky that he moved into her father's building. Lucky that it had been snowing for the first time in five years on Christmas Eve and that his electricity ran out. And so lucky to open the door to him and to let him step into her life.

"I love you, too," she said.

THE END


End file.
